To that end, within the first year of my term as Administrator, I issued the “2018-2026 TSA Strategy” and established three strategic priorities to guide the agency’s workforce through its 25th Anniversary aimed to: (1) Improve Security and Safeguard the Nation’s Transportation System (2) Accelerate Action and (3) Commit to Our People. TSA’s vision is to remain agile, embodied by a professional workforce that engages its partners and the American people to address current and future challenges and threats to the Homeland. To meet these challenges, we must continue to innovate, rapidly deploy new solutions, and maximize the impact of our resources. Threats to aviation and surface transportation remain persistent, pervasive, and they are constantly evolving, especially in the cyber realm. Since TSA’s creation, the modes and methods of terrorist attacks have become more decentralized and opportunistic than ever before, and aviation and transport hubs still remain highly-valued targets. TSA’s security inspectors conduct approximately 8,000 surface inspections annually in pursuing a risk-based approach for securing a large and complex network of transportation systems and critical infrastructure. In the surface transportation realm, TSA works closely with owners and operators to protect the critical surface transportation systems that connect cities, manufacturers and retailers and power our economy through more than 4 million miles of roadways nearly 140,000 miles of railroad track more than 470 tunnels and over 2.8 million miles of pipeline. We also ensure regulatory compliance in aviation through the work of more than 940 aviation and cargo transportation security inspectors. With travel volume rebounding, TSA routinely screens more than 2 million passengers and 1.4 million checked items daily for explosives and other dangerous items, and in many locations, this growth is expected to rapidly continue and will either approach or exceed pre-pandemic volumes over the coming months. Today, within the aviation network, TSA is responsible for the security of over 430 federalized airports, with screening services forecasted this summer servicing over 24,000 domestic flights (at pre-pandemic levels) and nearly 3,300 outbound international flights per day. TSA works collaboratively with our partners to provide agile and responsive security across all modes of transportation through passenger and cargo screening vetting and credentialing personnel in critical transportation sectors law enforcement regulatory compliance and international cooperation. Yet, even as the threats we face have multiplied and diversified, our fundamental mission to protect the nation’s transportation systems and ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce has not changed. In the years since 9/11 and specifically over the past fiscal year, TSA has not only had to address ever-present threats to aviation, but also dynamic and emerging cybersecurity threats to our nation’s rail and oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, as well as the public health threats from COVID-19. From that day forward, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to providing the highest level of security across all modes of transportation and worked with our partners to stay ahead of evolving threats. TSA was established by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in the wake of the September 11th attacks and given the urgent task of protecting our nation’s transportation systems. I am honored to be here and am grateful for the longstanding and constructive partnership TSA enjoys with this Subcommittee and the support you have provided over the years. Thank you for inviting me to testify on the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget Request, which includes a $9.7 billion request for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Good morning Chairwoman Roybal-Allard, Ranking Member Fleischmann, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee.
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